Prospect of solar PV based power generation in the marshy lands of Bangladesh: An analysis through RETScreen software

Bangladesh receives an average daily solar energy of 4–6.5 kWh/m2/day [1] which is highly suitable for generation of electricity through solar PV. As Bangladesh is one of the highly densely populated countries in the world [2], so, it is difficult to get empty space for generation of solar PV based power. Population growth is quite high, approximately 1.6% per year [3] and the available space is shrinking at a very fast rate. Also, as the livelihood of around 70% [4] of the population depends on agriculture, so arable lands cannot be used for solar PV based generation. However, there are some marshy lands in Bangladesh whose soil structure is mainly sandy in nature and such soil is not suitable for harvesting crops or vegetation [5]. The main aim of this paper is to focus on such lands of Bangladesh which are suitable for PV based generation. In this context, the authors have surveyed some areas in the north western zone of Bangladesh to study the possibility of solar PV based power generation. A suitable marshy land was found in the district of Sirajganj. The approximate area of the proposed land is around 44 acres where around 13MW of solar PV based power can be generated. The most advantageous part of the location of the land is that a 230kV grid line is situated together with a North West Power Generation Co., Ltd (NWPGCL) sub-station within 1km from the northern edge of the proposed area. The generated power can be directly hooked up with the 230kV grid line. Hence significant amount of energy can be extracted from Solar PV power plant to feed the national grid. The Renewable Energy Policy of the Power Ministry, Government of Bangladesh (GOB) has fixed the target to produce 5% of the total power generation by 2015 and 10% by 2020 from renewable energy sources. This means that at least 800MW power has to be generated from renewable sources by 2015 and 2000MW by 2020, taking into consideration of the predictive load growth for the coming years [6]. Relevant financial data found through RETScreen software shows that such project is quite feasible and the cost of energy stands at Tk 7.70/kWh.